The Choice
by sandersonsister
Summary: Reading the books fic. Harry, along with Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys have a choice to make. But first they have to finish seven books. SLASH HP/CW
1. Chapter 1

Harry didn't know what was happening. One moment, he was sitting in the library, trying to prepare for the second task, and the next he felt like he was being pulled through a straw and slamming into a wall.

Shocked, the fourteen year old stared up at the ceiling for a moment, before hauling himself to his feet and looking around. It was a large room, with sofas and chairs forming a large circle with a table in the middle. Off to the side, Harry thought he saw something that looked like a row of beds… kind of like the hospital wing actually.

_Where am I?_

As soon as the thought crossed the boy's mind, a single piece of parchment floated down from above. Harry, on instinct, grabbed the parchment and strained his eyes, trying to see where it had fallen from. Unfortunately, the boy couldn't see anything above him. Hesitantly, his eyes drifted to land on the parchment.

_Harry,_

_I know you're confused, but don't do anything rash! In front of you, on the table, are seven books. These seven books tell, in detail, a perfect (or as near as I could get) retelling of your years at Hogwarts. Or, well, the first three, anyway. And half of the fourth. The rest are of what COULD happen. _

_Here's the deal – I'm giving you a chance to change those last few books. If you read them, and decide that what happens in the books is worth it in the end, you will forget everything you have read and return right back where you were before you were sent here._

_If not, you will be able to remember what you read, and try to change the outcome – but, in doing this, just realize that things might become worse. I honestly don't know._

_I am sending a few more people in with you to read. Have them read this letter. By the way, sorry for my aim. I think I might have missed. _

_Happy Reading!_

The second Harry finished reading, loud popping noises started happening all over the room. He grabbed his wand instantly – only to freeze when he saw the people appearing.

Ron was first, slamming into the wall, falling to the floor with a loud groan.

Hermione was next, landing on top of the boy.

Next was Dumbledore, who stayed on his feet, with a frown on his face.

Sirius fell onto one of the sofa's, Remus following soon after.

Molly and Arthur Weasley, Molly with a spatula still in her hand.

Ginny, landing in a heap beside her brother.

Fred and George, the two of them cackling when they landed on a bed in the corner.

And then Bill and Charlie Weasley, both looking extremely confused.

"Albus?" Molly questioned frantically, looking around the room with her spatula raised. Harry had a sudden vision of her beating people away with the wooden object.

"It seems someone wanted us here for a reason," Professor Dumbledore said, his blue eyes moving around the room, "although what that reason is, I cannot say."

Harry moved forward hesitantly, holding out the letter to the older man. Professor Dumbledore frowned once again before reading the words aloud.

"So," Charlie said, breaking the silence after the Headmaster fell silent, "I guess we need to read."

"Apparently so," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling, "there doesn't appear to be a door."

"Harry," a voice said, making Harry turn his eyes away from the Headmaster.

"Sirius," He said, running across the room to hug the man. He held onto him tightly, feeling the other man hold him just as close.

"Sirius Black!" Molly gasped, her eyes wide with horror.

"Sirius is innocent," Dumbledore said calmly, noticing that every eye was firmly fixed on the man. "All will be explained in the books. He is also Harry's godfather."

That obviously wasn't enough of an explanation for Molly, by the irritated look on her face, but she accepted it and started to move toward the loveseat.

Harry noticed everyone had slowly started to move toward the circle of chairs and sofas, and slowly broke away from Sirius, hugging Remus quickly. "Come on, Harry," Hermione said, a frown on her face. "It seems like we don't really have a choice."

Harry moved forward slowly, not liking at all where this was going. How accurate were these books, exactly? There were some things he would just rather be forgotten.

Hermione moved first, grabbing the first book and holding it up, **"Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone,"**

"This should be interesting," Ron muttered from his place next to Hermione, looking at his mother in despair. Harry felt sympathy for the other boy – he didn't want Molly knowing what had happened these last few years either.

**"Chapter one, The Boy Who Lived."**

Harry inwardly groaned as every eye in the room turned to him. He slowly pushed further back into the couch, glad he had chosen to sit between Charlie and Sirius, with Remus in the armchair next to his old friend. The two men were big enough to block him from most of the room's view.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which-"**

"Who are these people?" Arthur cut in quickly.

"My relatives," Harry muttered, not meeting anyone's eye. Sirius frowned deeply at the look on his godson's face, noticing Remus also looked worried.

"**-which made drills."**

"What's a drill?" Arthur asked excitedly, ignoring the groans he got from his family.

"A drill is-" Hermione started, obviously going into lecture mode.

"If you write down everything you don't know, I can explain it to you once we're done." Harry said quickly, cutting the girl off – and receiving an irritated look in return.

Charlie chuckled, his arm brushing against Harry's as he leaned over, "Smart."

**"He was a big, beefy man, with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning her neck over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. The Dursley's had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere."**

Everyone that had met Dudley snorted loudly, while the others looked confused.

"**The Dursley's had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters."**

"There isn't anything wrong with the Potters!" Sirius snapped, turning his glare to the book.

"Thank you," Harry said quietly.

**"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister. But they hadn't met for several years in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing-husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursley shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursley's knew that the potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that."**

"A child like what exactly?" Remus seethed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Harry smiled slightly at the irritated looks the book was receiving. He liked knowing these people would stand up for him.

"**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar– a cat reading a map."**

"Minnie!" Fred and George yelled out.

"Fred! George! That is no way to talk about your –"

"It's alright, Molly," Professor Dumbledore said, a smile on his lips, "I do believe she secretly enjoys it."

"**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen– then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road he watched the cat in his mirror it was now reading the sign; cats couldn't read maps ****_or_**** signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else."**

**"As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help notice that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eye fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!"**

"Yes, yes!" Arthur said, nodding frantically, "Muggle's don't wear cloaks!"

"We know, dear."

"**The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt — these people were obviously collecting for something...yes that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office and the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people sown in the street did; they pointer and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at night time. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery."**

"Great exercise." Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, whatever he can get," Harry muttered back, "he needs it."

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right. That's what I heard —"**

**"— yes, their son Harry —"**

Molly let out a muffled sob, suddenly realizing what day it was. Sirius had his head buried in his hands, and Remus was letting out an odd whimpering noise. Even the two oldest Weasley boys were frowning, both being old enough to remember parts of this sad day.

"**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office , snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry**.**Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. "**

"They didn't even know your name?!" Molly screeched, her face still lined with tears.

**There was just no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if He'd had a sister like that...but all the same, those people in cloaks..."**

Sirius's eyes narrowed. "What exactly does that mean? Lily was amazing."

Once again, Harry found himself touched by the statement. "Can you," he hesitated for a moment, before letting out a deep breath. Might as well go for it, "can you tell me about her? Remus told me some about dad, but I – I don't really know much and…"

Molly let out another sob, but Sirius was nodding, a sad look in his eye, "of course I can. And Remus can too."

"I remember a bit," Bill said suddenly, making the young man look at him in shock. He shrugged his shoulders, a small smile on his face. "Your mother used to babysit sometimes. I remember some of it. I can tell you what I know."

Harry smiled brightly at the other man, "Thank you!"

**"He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o' clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry," the grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few second before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today!"**

"**Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day! And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off."**

"He put his arms around him?" George asked in shock.

"I didn't think that was possible!" Fred continued.

"Fred! George!"

"Sorry, mum."

**"Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw — and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes."**

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behaviour?-"**

"For that cat it is," Charlie said quietly, making Bill (who was sitting beside him in an armchair) smirk and Harry chuckle.

"**-Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Shan't"). Mr Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: **

"**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nations' owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changer their sleeping pattern." The news caster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be anymore showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

"Why is that weird?" Ron asked, frowning.

"In the muggle world, owls only come out at night," Harry said quickly, once again not wanting to get a twenty minute explanation from his friend.

"**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that. But it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain that I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars."**

**Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And whisper, a whisper about the Potters...Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"As he expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister."**

"What a vile woman!" Molly hissed.

Sirius and Remus both nodded, glaring at the book.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"** "**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls...shooting stars...and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."** "**_So_****?" snapped Mrs. Dursley**

"**Well, I just thought...maybe...it was something to do with...you know...****_her _****crowd."Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dare tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." he decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could. "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty common name, if you asked me."**

"Hey!" Sirius snapped.

**"He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursley's got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind...He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect ****_them_****..."**

"Wrong." Harry said softly.

Charlie looked at the boy beside him with narrowed eyes. Just how bad was this boy's family? Yeah, Fred and George had told him about the bars on his windows before second year… but he thought they had been making it up!

**"How very wrong he was. Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and it's eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled books. His eye were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice."**

"It has," Dumbledore said, moving his hand up to his nose and patting it fondly.

"**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. **

"That is so cool!" Ron exclaimed.

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyes Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"MINNIE!"

"**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather sever-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.** "**How did you know it was me?" she asked.** "**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day." Said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."** **Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh, yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head at the Dursley' dark living -room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls...shooting stars...Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle he never had much sense."**

"You can say that again." Remus agreed, rolling his eyes.

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in muggle clothes, swapping rumours."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really ****_has _****gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop."**

"**A ****_what_****?"**

Dumbledore shook his head. He didn't understand why so many people were against his favorite sweet.

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone — "**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: ****_Voldemort._****" Professor McGonagall flinched.**

Every Weasley in the room, as well as Hermione, flinched. Sirius rolled his eyes.

**But Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"**I know you haven't," said professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, ****_Voldemort_****, was frightened of.** "**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Albus!" Molly protested loudly.

"**Only because you're too — well — ****_noble _****to use them."**

"That's right," Molly said, agreeing with the book. Harry saw the two oldest Weasley's roll their eyes at their mother, while the twins chuckled.

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

Sirius snorted.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumours that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

Once again, every eye focused on Harry, who was desperately trying to blend into the furniture. He knew this was going to be a bad idea!

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"**What they're saying," she pressed on, **"**is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – dead!"**

Every head hung low, all thinking about the people that had been taken in the war.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James... I can't believe it...I didn't want to believe it...Oh, Albus..."**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I know..." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But — he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

"Yes, but how?" Sirius asked impatiently, his eyes drifting over to his godson. Harry just shrugged in response, not having an answer for the man.

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's ****_true_****?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done...all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding...of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a laced handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me ****_why _****you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

Sirius growled, sliding an arm around the teen. "I shouldn't have gone after Peter. You should have been with me."

Harry didn't know what to say. In a way, he agreed with his godfather. On the other hand, if something had happened to Ron or Hermione… he would have gone after whoever had betrayed them in a heartbeat. He just leaned into his godfather, letting the man hug him once again.

"**You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"I'm sorry, did you say a letter?" Molly asked politely, though no one missed the fire shooting from he woman's eyes.

Dumbledore cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Yay for me," Harry muttered sarcastically.

"**Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boys head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallow, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it — wise — to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"Hey! What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry asked, slightly upset that the half giant was being questioned.

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"I miss that bike." Sirius muttered.

"I think Hagrid still has it." Remus told his friend soothingly, though behind Sirius's back he rolled his eyes at Harry.

Harry chuckled, patting his godfather on the arm.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild — long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash cans lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. **"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his fore head they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.** "**Is that where — ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes" said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

Harry frowned as everyone turned to look at the famous scar on his forehead. Nervously, he began to flatten his hair down.

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."**

"Seriously?" George asked.

"Awesome!" Fred agreed.

"Idiots," Bill said, smirking at his brothers fondly. They both sent him a betrayed look.

"**Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursley's' house**

"**Could I — Could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, Taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it.** **"But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles — "**

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself. Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle, Hagrid's shoulders shook, professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out."**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply**.

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"**Good luck, Harry" he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

"Albus-" Sirius growled.

"I am aware I made mistakes, Sirius," Dumbledore said, holding up his hand and silencing he younger man. "And you have every right to call me on each one. But we still have reading to do."

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing thing to happen. Harry potter rolled over insider his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley...He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!'**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and am not making any mone off of this story. Everything in Black is J.K. Rowlings.

A/N: Please review! Thank you all for the reviews and favorites!

"I would like to read, if you don't mind," Remus said softly, accepting the book Hermione reluctantly handed over.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Ron said in amusement, shooting a grin at Harry. "There will be plenty more times for you to read. There are seven books, aft all!"

**"Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass." **Remus said, making Harry sink back into his seat. He shot an anxious look at Sirius, wondering how he was going to take his secret.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. **

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets — **

George and Fred cackled evilly, a wicked look on their faces.

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, **

"I have no idea what most of that means," Charlie admitted to Harry quietly.

Harry shot the older man a smile, "Your dad is already writing them down."

**being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

"What exactly does that mean?" Sirius demanded, the rest of the group obviously waiting for the answer as they stared at Harry intently.

"Can we just read?" Harry asked tiredly. This was exactly why he didn't want to read these books!

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. **

"**Up! Get up! Now!" **

"Pleasant," Charlie muttered, earning nods of agreement from his brothers.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. **

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"I used to get messages from James at two o'clock in the morning," Sirius told his godson, a sad smile on his face. "They would have trouble getting you to go to sleep, so they would want me to take you on the bike. You always slept after that."

**His aunt was back outside the door. **

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

"**Nearly," said Harry. **

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." **

"Excuse me?" Molly asked, looking offended, "He's just a boy! He shouldn't be making breakfast!"

**Harry groaned. **

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. **

"**Nothing, nothing…" **

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept. **

Half of the room jumped to their feet, demanding explanations. Dumbledore has lost the twinkle in his eye, a sad look crossing his features. Sirius had pulled Harry against him tightly, mumbling nonsense to the boy.

"It's over!" Harry said, struggling to be heard over the noise. "Yes I slept in the cupboard. No, I don't anymore. Can we move on?"

"No," Charlie snapped, earning himself a shocked look from the boy. He hadn't expected Charlie to be the one fighting him on this – Molly or Hermione, yes, but not the second oldest Weasley! They had just met this past summer!

"Then can we talk about it later? After we finish the book?"

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"If this is going where I think it is..." Sirius started threateningly, tightening his hold on Harry.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast**.

Remus said this with a growl. Molly once again jumped to her feat, throwing questions at the Headmaster.

"We should have done more –" George started.

"- than make his tongue grow." Fred finished mournfully.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. **

"You never told me that!" Hermione protested, "I thought that was just the clothes you wanted to wear!"

"You mean that isn't how muggles usually look?" Ron asked, confused.

**Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,**

"Exactly like James..." Remus said, smiling soflty.

**and bright green eyes.**

"Like your mum," Sirius muttered.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"You liked your scar?" Ron asked, shocked.

"Before I knew what it was," Harry grumbled.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. **

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"Car crash?" Remus started softly.

"They said your parents died in a car crash?!" Sirius exploded.

Harry sighed, closing his eyes tightly. "Keep reading!"

"**And don't ask questions." **

"Don't ask questions? How do you know anything if you can't ask questions?" Hermione demanded.

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. **

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"It won't work." Sirius said, running a hand through his godson's hair fondly. "James tried everything to make it lie flat. Nothing helped."

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place. **

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. **

"Great description, mate," Ron said, looking a little green.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. **

The Weasley boys began to laugh, Sirius chuckling along with them. Who knew Harry had a sense of humor?

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. **

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." **

"Sorry, did he just say thirty-six?" Charlie demanded, sitting forward on the sofa. "That's ridiculous!"

"No one should get that," Bill said, nodding at his brother.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy." **

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. **

"That's why you eat so fast!" Hermione exclaimed, eyes wide.

"That isn't healthy, Harry," Molly fretted, shaking her head at the boy, "you could choke!"

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?" **

"Two more? That will only make it worse!" Arthur exclaimed, shaking his head.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…" **

"Oh, come on!" Ron exclaimed.

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." **

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. **

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **

"Horrible man!"

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. **

"It's like another language," Ron muttered as his father scribbled away on the parchment in front of him.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. **

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction. **

"I have yet to hear them actually say your name," Bill commented, a hard glint in his eye.

Harry shrugged, not wanting to explain that he barely ever heard his name before he went to school.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. **

"Cats." Sirius growled, making Harry chuckle loudly. Remus merely rolled his eyes at his friend.

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"Harry!" Remus reprimanded lightly, but Harry saw him hide a smile.

"Good for you!" Sirius said, smiling brightly at his godson. "Cats are evil creatures!"

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Who is Marge?" Fred questioned.

"My uncles sister. She makes him look like and angel," Harry muttered.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. **

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?" **

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. **

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"I don't think that's going to work –"

"- but good try," The twins said, smiling at their honorary brother.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. **

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…" **

"They better not!" Sirius growled.

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…" **

"You have got to be kidding!" Hermione exclaimed, shaking her head. "These people are horrible!"

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. **

"**Dinky Duddydums, **

"I'm sorry-"

"-what did she just call him?" The twins asked gleefully.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. **

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. **

"Brat." Bill muttered, looking disgusted.

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.**

**Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. **

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Is anyone else reminded of Malfoy?"

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

Remus and Sirius exchanged a sad look, both thinking about how James and Lily had looked forward to doing things like this with Harry. Actually, Sirius and Remus had been looking forward to it.

The had never gotten a chance.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." **

Remus let out a growl, making half the room jump in surprise.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…" **

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. **

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

"Oh, Harry," Molly sighed sadly.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. **

"Impressive," Dumbledore said, turning approving eyes on the younger man.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly. **

"Your aunt would have known," Sirius growled out, "She saw what happened to Lily."

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

Ron 'coughed' loudly, earning a reprimanding look from his mother. "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, shooting his best friend a smile, "it is funny… now."

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. **

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. **

"Thank Merlin for that." Sirius muttered.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

"You apparated?!" Charlie burst out, looking at the young man beside him in shock.

"That takes a lot of power," Dumbledore told Harry quietly.

Harry shifted toward Sirius, once again uncomfortable with all the eyes on him.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. **

"The wind?" Sirius said loudly, while everyone else laughed. "Oh, we have to work on your lying. Caught by the wind."

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. **

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"… **roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. **

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

"I know!" Harry said loudly, attempting to ward off the looks he was receiving, "it was stupid. I know!"

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" **

"Do too." Sirius argued.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. **

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." **

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. **

"What sort of dangerous ideas?" Bill demanded.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. **

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

Chuckles sounded throughout the room.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. **

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. **

"Horrible child!" Molly hissed.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

Groans sounded throughout the room. With Harry's luck, they should have known.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. **

Harry stiffened, shooting Sirius and Remus a apprehensive look. He didn't want to know what they were going to say… actually… he didn't know what any of them were going to say. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't know either, and Bill and Charlie. Oh, Merlin.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. **

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. **

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. **

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. **

"Comparing yourself to a snake? Really, Harry?" Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes fondly.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **

**It winked.**

"Winked? Snakes can't wink." Charlie said, frowning in confusion.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

"You did what?" Sirius exclaimed, making Harry sink back in the chair and send a panicked look to Ron and Hermione. Both had grim expressions on their faces, having figured out what was going to happen.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: **

"**I get that all the time." **

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." **

**The snake nodded vigorously. **

"You're a parslemouth?" Sirius said in shock, standing.

Harry winced, having been afraid of this reaction. "Yes."

"How?" Remus demanded, shooting a glare at Sirius.

"Harry has a… connection with Voldemort." Dumbledore explained, keeping firm eyes on Sirius. "It will all be explained in the second book, I believe. Now, if you would take your seat, we shall resume."

Slowly, Sirius sank back onto the sofa, a closed off expression on his face. Instantly, Harry moved closer to Charlie, not wanting to crowd the man sitting next to him. "It's alright," Charlie said softly, placing his hand on the other boys. He grew furious when he realized how badly Harry was shaking.

**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. **

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. **

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil. **

"**Was it nice there?" **

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"Mate, didn't you even wonder how you were talking to a snake?" Ron asked with a laugh.

Harry just shook his head, pressing in closer to Charlie.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" **

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. **

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. **

Sirius growled loudly, looking at the book.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. **

"What did you do?" Charlie asked in amusement, nudging the boys shoulder with his own.

Ron laughed loudly, remember a certain sentence Harry had mentioned to them in second year.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

There was a second of silence, and then the entire room started to laugh. "Nice," Sirius said, laughing loudly.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. **

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo." **

"At least he was polite," Molly managed to say, only to make the laughing resume.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. **

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" **

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?" **

"Uh oh," Ginny winced.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. **

"No meals? No wonder you're so thin!" Molly said frantically, thinking of all the things she could make the boy. Harry blushed, closing his eyes.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. **

"Good pup." Sirius said, sending his godson a bright smile. Harry smiled back hesitantly. Did this mean Sirius wasn't upset with him?

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

"You remember that?" Sirius whispered, the entire room silent.

Harry nodded slowly, not looking anyone in the eye. What did it matter? They were going to find everything out anyway.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. **

"We'll tell you," Remus promised.

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. **

"I have pictures," Remus said sadly. Sirius shook his head – he didn't have anything. Not anymore.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; **

Sirius winced. He knew it was his fault. He should have been there!

**the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. **

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. **

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Horrible people!" Mrs. Weasley exploded, turning furious eyes on the Headmaster. "Did no one check on him? Did no one even-"

"He was safe in the wards, Molly," Dumbledore said tiredly, closing his eyes briefly. "Now, I believe we have some more reading to do."


End file.
